House Tentatively Passes Abortion Bill

State lawmakers in the House have passed a bill that would prohibit some health plans from offering abortion coverage.

House Bill 730 would prohibit private health care plans offered under the Affordable Care Act from allowing abortion services. It would also allow any health care provider in the state to refuse to participate in an abortion. And it would prohibit cities and counties from offering abortion coverage except in cases of rape, incest, or if the life of the mother is at stake.

The bill's sponsors say the measure allows those who are opposed to abortion to exercise their conscience. But opponents, including Democratic Representative Deborah Ross, say the measure tramples women's rights.

"If private insurers not for religious reasons, but for these other moral reasons or their own choice, want to deny these rights to women, they are imposing their own views on captive employees, and that is just wrong," said Ross.

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Jessica Jones reports about an abortion-related bill that passed a state Senate committee.

A bill that would make public educators teach students that abortions can cause preterm births is headed to the state Senate floor.

It’s one of a raft of measures introduced this session aimed at restricting and reducing the number of abortions. Senate Bill 132 would require health instructors teaching students in the seventh grade and older to include information about what the bill calls “preventable causes of preterm birth, including induced abortion.”